Malinois issues!! Help! Questions

Hopefully you can tell that she has grown. She is 13lbs. But she was 7 when I got her. She should be 17-24 or so lbs at this point from what I understand.

No idea why my pics won’t post the correct direction. Sorry

I did not realise that you meant you tied her to the table because it was during the night - to most puppies though every every second of the day or night is play time if they get the chance, except when it is nap time. As you had taken her outside she was probably wide awake and ready for more play time - they do not seem to care whether it is day or night!

ha!! When I first got her, I would set my alarm for every two hours and play with her for 30 min in the middle of the night to wear her back out so she would sleep for the next two hours!!! I looked like a zombie, lol

Just reread your post and I think this may be my plan of attack. Just get rid of all expectations and do nothing but play for awhile.

I mentioned this above, I am not about to re-home her because I know what that means. There are too many malinois put to sleep because they are re-homed. I’m not going to give up on her.

I’ve looked into the puzzle idea mentioned on the first page and I think I am going to get her a flirt so I can work on her chasing and jumping . I do this currently with a frisbee, but a flirt would be better.

she is getting stronger. Last night was the first night she was able to jump on the couch by herself.

keep the ideas coming please. I don’t even mind if it’s criticism of me. End of the day, I have been more than patient with this dog, but to be fair, I need to switch my paradigm with her and allow her to lead. She may just be a little.....slow....

I have yet to yell, hit, throw, or do anything that would hint that I am angry, BUT I have been angry and I know she picks up on it despite my best efforts to hide it

When Tikva, my current little one [not the one in my avatar] came to me she was an un-weaned tiny 3-week-old and she would eep for a bottle every couple of hours day and night! Luckily it was just a case of feeding, burping, wiping her face, putting her on a puppy pee pad, then back in her crate, which is in my bedroom. She still sleeps in her crate over five years later and always lets me know when she wants to go to bed.

Just be careful with the frisbee or flirt pole. The growth plates at the end of her long bones will still be soft, and too much strenuous exercise can damage her joints. the same applies to on-lead walking, (I am anticipating your laughter here), 5 minutes for each month of her life is the general rule - though free running on grass doesn't count. Does she have a good nose? Could you set up some basic searching and scenting games for her?
If your vet has given her the all clear, you are still left with the problem of her over-active bowel and bladder. It is just possible that she has some kind of a food intolerance problem, - is she on a grain free kibble? Grain free with a high percentage of meat should allow a lower residue poop. Also, some dogs can be allergic to chicken and beef, it might be worth trying an alternative protein source - such as duck, lamb, white fish or salmon.

walks are on dirt. Not sure it’s much better, it’s not as soft as a grass would be. Food is chicken, but I will take a look at the rest of the ingredients and take a look at some other options for meats.

she is supposed to have a good nose, but hasn’t really used it much for anything. Too busy chewing in my arm, but I will take a look at some hiding games and see what I can come up with

I thought my pup was slow learning , compared to my female cattle dog.
she was ‘connected ‘ to what I was saying earlier .

the boy didn’t really become fully connected as us as a unit until later.

for instance I’d never seen a pup that didn’t know how to come .

I’d had it easy before, toilet training took months and months,
And accidents become less and less.

I get up really early for him especially and made a small yard out the door , so I can leave the garage door up for him to let himself go to the toilet.

he’s 8 1/2 months now , can control his toilet a lot better, still an occasional accident , not regularly though.

was the smallest in the litter, I chose him specifically out of them all.

the thing is , once they’ve ‘got it’ they’ve got it.

so although he took longer to get it,
He now knows the same tricks , he could have earlier, and were connected on that level of understanding.

and I wouldn’t trade him for billions of dollars .

great post. Thank you. I had to go back to the basics with her today. Controlled drinking because she tends to empty the bowl, and just being a puppy . Lots of play time and no work. Just eating, playing and napping

I am confused. It may be a typing slip or that you read before you got her, but is she 3 months or 8 months old?

It sounds like she loves to play. Utilise that. Slip in your training during your games. Make it fun. I'd love to be able to work with your dog for a while because she sounds really intriguing

Chris, I think Brian @suaveflooder meant that he had read up on the breed for eight months before he got the pup.

Reading through properly the previous posts, I agree with you Julie.

She's still a baby and I feel sure she will get there.

I'd try changing the protein source too. It's surprising how many dogs have a degree of intolerance to chicken these days and it can cause an awful lot of problems when they are

@Malka is correct. I was injured last year in the police academy. The dog has intrigued me for years, so I started reading. I figured when I got my strength up I would give it a go before I go back to the academy since I would have the time to devote to her while she is a puppy.

I started with basic info and moved on to any sort of breed flaws...although I didn’t have to get past basic info to find out how hard these dogs are. There is a lady local to me with a YouTube page about her malinois. I talked to her the other day and she said she full on cried for months because of hers.

intriguing is one way of putting it. The “problem” with her, so far as I can tell is lack of motivation. My guess is her size, or lack there of, and her lack of drive is why she was the last of 9 puppies left. She has zero motivation to do anything. Super hyper and bites like a maligator should, but is not motivated to work. Short of taking the more extreme role (which I hear does not work for most because they react negatively to reprimand, but will for some) I have tried almost every other trick, so now I just wait and stay consistent. She is not good, praise, or toy motivated so far as I can tell. She grows bored of it all within seconds. Basically, end of the day, she is a horrible representation of what a malinois should be.....or at least what you look for in a dog. Haha!! Yet she has all the negative. She barks non-stop, and leads with her mouth is very destructive of clothing. Her teeth HURT! And while it’s funny afterward, the cuts over my arm are killing me.

she is out constantly and I make sure she is good and tired before she goes back into the crate (usually she lays down and tries to sleep). I use that opportunity to put her in her crate to sleep. All of her eating is an opportunity to play, so I use it that way in the hope that I can eventually have her focus on me.


@Malka I’m gonna take a look at a lamb food later today and start making the switch. She is on a limited ingredient food at the moment so hopefully the meat source will help. She was up A LOT last night. 11:30pm, 12:30am, 2:00am, 2:45am, 3:30am, 3;48am, 4:30am, 5:45am.

Good = food above. It’ll make more sense then lol

Brian, she is still a baby [by the way, what is her name?] and yes, baby teeth hurt. A lot. What you have to keep reminding yourself is the fact that she has not been with you all that long and she will get focused on you eventually but it will take time. Slowly, slowly.

Even if you just want to have a moan there will be someone here to advise you.

I hope you recover completely from your injury - and please give your lovely little puppy a cuddle from me.

Is her crate in a quiet place with no distractions?
What do you do when she keeps waking up?

I would set her on a routine, food, play, walks, sleep, toilet ect and stick to it.

As for the odd accident indoors it’s not unusual for puppies that age, just look for the signal when she is about to go and take her strait outside.

I would go back to basics, With young puppies I like to keep them by my bedside at night, so they could hear and see us, and could hang my hand nearby to reassure them if need be. Alarm set for every 2/3 hours for first week, working time up
a swift, out of the bed, outside for a wee/poo, (No playing or fussing or anything else.)

Get her favourite toy and drag it along the ground slowly and try to entice her to chase, also little quick jerky movements back and forth should interest her. Always let her catch it and let her play a bit of a tug on it with you.
As for biting
The goal is not so much to stop them from biting, but to teach them bite inhibition/ bite control, no one method will work for all and there are numerous ways to teach them to understand what's acceptable, main point is teaching the pup what is allowable/acceptable.

Look up Stonnie Dennis puppy videos on youtube he has some ‘mal’ones too.

I would LOVE if it was the odd accident. It’s been 12 hours, she has peed in her crate 5 times and gone out 12. None of them are really big, she is just peeing to pee. No bladder infection


@Malka , I’m done complaining to be honest . Just apathetic to the whole situation at this point. Gonna hope for the best at this point. So I will continue to read responses but not really comment. I’m sure you are all sick of hearing about it by now

Lol yes I remember saying “my pup could easily piss 20 times a day “ no exaggeration.

sounds about right to me .

@Malka, her name is Willow! Sorry missed that last time around